flaccid and shrivelled state its fibres are
less easily divided in chewing, and the water which exists in the form
of their respective natural juices is less directly nutritious.

1096. Preservation.

The first Care in the preservation of succulent vegetables, therefore,
is to prevent them from losing their natural moisture. They should
alway be boiled in a saucepan by themselves, and have plenty of water:
if meat is boiled with them in the same pot, the one will spoil the
look and taste of the other.

1097. Cleaning.

To have vegetables delicately clean, put on your pot, make it boil,
put a little salt in, and skim it perfectly clean before you put in
the greens, &c., which should not be put in till the water boils
briskly: the quicker they boil the greener they will be.

1098. When Done.

When the vegetables sink, they are generally done enough, if the water
has been kept constantly boiling. Take them up immediately, or they
will lose their colour and goodness, Drain the water from them
thoroughly before you send them to table. This branch of cookery
requires the most vigilant attention.

[KEEP YOUR KEYS AND BE AT EASE.]

1099. Over-Cooked.

If vegetables are a minute or two too long over the fire, they lose
all their beauty and flavour.

1100. Undercooked.

If not thoroughly boiled tender, they are very indigestible, and much
more troublesome during their residence in the stomach than underdone
meats.

1101. Take Care your Vegetables are Fresh.

To preserve or give colour in cookery many good dishes are spoiled;
but the rational epicure, who makes nourishment the main end of
eating, will be content to sacrifice the shadow to enjoy the
substance. As the fishmonger often suffers for the sins of the cook,
so the cook often gets undeservedly blamed instead of the greengrocer.

1102. To Cleanse Vegetables of Insects.

Make a strong brine of one pound and a half of salt to one gallon of
water; into this, place the vegetables with the stalk ends uppermost,
for two or three hours: this will destroy all the insects which
cluster in the leaves, and they will fall out and sink to the bottom
of the water.

1103. Potatoes.

Most people esteem potatoes beyond any other vegetable, yet few
persons know how to cook them. The following will be found to be
excellent methods of cooking thi